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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: content · kid · scale · prune · branch · ball · cap · rule

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. rule — government
  3. kid — child
  4. content — the amount
  5. cap — a lid
  6. kid — to tease
  7. cap — a hat
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. prune — to trim
  10. ball — a dance
  11. content — happy
  12. cap — of ice
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. ball — a great time
  16. prune — to trim
  17. branch — a division
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. scale — in music
  23. rule — a law
  24. branch — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com